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Junkrat is one of the heroes in Overwatch. He is a demolitionist and an international criminal who is being targeted by law-keepers, bounty hunters and other criminals world-wide for the treasure in his possession.

Junkrat’s area-denying traps include a custom designed Frag Launcher that lobs bouncing grenades, Concussion Mines that send enemies flying, and Steel Traps that stop foes dead in their tracks and make them vulnerable to other attacks.

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Junkrat is an explosives-obsessed freak who lives to cause chaos and destruction.

The attack on the Australian omnium's fusion core forever altered the landscape of the Outback. After the detonation, the area was transformed into a harsh, irradiated wasteland, littered with debris and the twisted fragments of the ruined facility, and unlivable to most.

But there were some who survived. Calling themselves the Junkers, they scavenged the husk of the omnium and formed a lawless, cutthroat society in its shadow. Junkrat was one of them, eking out a living reclaiming metal and components from the ruins. Like many others, he was affected by the lingering radiation. This touch of madness made him ideal for handling dangerous explosives, a love which he turned into an obsession.

He came to notoriety when he discovered an extremely valuable secret in the bones of the omnium. Though few knew the nature of what he found, he was nonetheless pursued by bounty hunters, gangs, and opportunists wherever he went, until he made a deal with the Junker enforcer Roadhog, who grudgingly agreed to be his personal bodyguard in exchange for a fifty-fifty share of the spoils.

Now, with Roadhog in tow, Junkrat has left the Outback, and embarked upon an international crime spree leaving nothing but havoc and bedlam in his wake.
Abilities

Junkrat revs up a motorized tire bomb and sends it rolling across the battlefield, climbing over walls and obstacles. He can remotely detonate
the RIP-Tire to deal serious damage to enemies caught within the blast, or just wait for it to explode on its own.

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"Fire in the hole!"

Besides these abilities, Junkrat is able to jump, crouch, reload (only when his ammo is not full), and perform Quick Melee.

All seasonal event items, which are marked with special event icons ( • • • • • ), are only available to be unlocked either through their respective Loot Boxes or by Credits within the event's duration.During the event, newly-introduced event items cost three times as much as non-event items of the same rarity, while returning seasonal items are unlocked at the regular price.

Jamison Fawkes was a Junker from the Junkertown who collected bits of metal and scrap for a living. The job combined with the effects of the lingering radiation gave him a deranged love of explosives.

In the remains of the ruined Omnium, Jamison found a large and incredibly valuable treasure, and he became the target of bounty hunters and gangs. He hired the Junker enforcer Roadhog as a personal bodyguard in exchange for half of his profits. Together, the two went on a crime spree around the world. Junkrat and Roadhog have stolen royal artifacts from King's Row, destroyed shops and trucks in Paris, robbed the arcade in Hanamura, and stolen most of the Bank of Dorado's gold in their crime spree.

At some point, Junkrat and Roadhog made a deal with the CEO of Hyde Global in Sydney to rescue its workers from omnic terrorists, as Junkrat wanted to become "legit". They found out that the "terrorists" were actually Hyde Global drones, and that the CEO had set them up, so they hung him from the top story of his skyscraper before blowing it up.[1]

Junkrat was later involved in another escapade with Roadhog in Luna Park, Australia.[2]

In Junkertown: The Plan, Junkrat and Roadhog were kicked out of Junkertown by its Queen. Junkrat attempted to come up with a plan that would allow the two into the town once more (one involving explosives, of course). Unfortunately, his efforts evidently proved futile, and Junkrat remained exiled.

Junkrat is established to be a chaos-inducing maniac with a passion for destruction. Lawless and volatile even by Junkertown standards, Junkrat has a simple outlook: any problem that can't be solved by money or explosives isn't worth solving. His impulsive, trigger-happy nature results in a frequent failure to think things through coupled with a tendency to jump the gun. Like many from Australia, he abhors omnics.

It has also been established that Junkrat is not a particularly clever man - he hates being tricked or taken advantage of, but is willing to do any job that allows him to thoughtlessly blow things up. He also appears to be somewhat clumsy, as shown in his "Unfortunate" Highlight Intro, where he accidentally hits himself in the groin with a bomb.

Despite his criminal ways, Junkrat does have some positive virtues. He seems to care about his friends, an example of this being his expressive rage towards a police officer for calling Roadhog fat in Going Legit. He often makes brash puns related to fire and explosions and even has some friendly voicelines as well, such as "smile" and "have a nice day" - though these may be said with a psychotic edge. As seen in Going Legit Junkrat is willing to do honest work and was genuinely excited to improve his reputation, though this ended up backfiring on him.

Junkrat is a good counter to characters that stay still, such as Bastion and Reinhardt. However, he is weaker against heroes with higher elevation and mobility than him, like Pharah or Genji, who can move to unreachable places.

A popular Symmetra tactic is attaching a photon beam to a person and moving about to avoid their attacks. Players can use this to their advantage, like luring her into a steel trap. Since she has no self-shielding tactics, this is a good opportunity to finish her off.

Total Mayhem can also be used as a sort of Kamikaze strategy. If things look desperate for Junkrat, simply throwing yourself into the fray and dying could eliminate a few enemies. This is particularly useful in a Graviton Surge and weak against an enemy D.Va (in Mech), as she can absorb the grenades with Defense Matrix.

He can use Frag Launcher to shoot grenades around corner's as a "spy check" to make sure he is safe.

Grenades will not explode directly after a collision against a wall (with the exception of Mei's Ice Wall), and will bounce before exploding. After hitting a surface, the explosion timer is drastically shortened.

When firing over a wall, an important factor to account for is the arch that is used. While the Frag Launcher's "magazine" can hold five grenades, each of which can deal devastating damage, a direct hit deals more damage and can be more efficient for eliminations. Aiming upwards allows his grenades to travel farther and higher, potentially launching over a wall or shield and hitting vulnerable healers or snipers.

Due to the fact that Junkrat doesn't do self damage anymore, Concussion Mine is all the more useful. Getting close to an enemy, firing a grenade, and finally throwing and detonating a Concussion Mine can eliminate all 200 health heroes and deal massive damage to tanks.

Junkrat's Concussion Mine can be used to escape close combat with characters such as Roadhog or Reaper.

Launching a Concussion Mine at a person and firing a grenade at the same time of detonating the mine can easily kill a 200 HP hero.

Steel Trap

For the "Mine Like a Steel Trap" achievement, a good setup is in a doorway with the enemy following. Blow up the Concussion Mine, and if they are still attempting to chase, they will get in the trap.

If playing in a map that spawns Junkrat in the Overwatch ship, a good tactic is to get a basketball, plant both a steel trap and a concussion mine on it, and melee the basketball around. If everything is aimed right, the trap and mine should stick to the ball. This tactic is good for a distraction of the enemy team as they will most likely be looking at the ball, allowing for a surprise attack. And/or it can kill at least one person if aimed right (ie: Bastion,) making enemy defenses lower. However, the player will need a lot of patience as the ball cannot be carried by the protagonist (unless playing with Symmetra); only punched repeatedly. The basketball is very slow and a player will need to stick with the ball as long as they want the plan carried out.

The best way to use Steel Trap is by putting the Steel Trap in the most obvious, but unsuspecting places, so enemies will not bother to check. For example, on maps like King's Row and Route 66, put them on the bottom step if set up at the beginning of a match. The best places are usually the most obvious places.

Steel Trap can also be used similar in strategy to Widowmaker's Venom Mine. You can even use it to protect some more vunerable allies, so always having a trap deployed is important.

Besides acting as a tool for spy checking, Steel Trap can also hinder enemies from escaping. Placing it near a popular route or choke point can be vital for a Junkrat.

Steel Trap can also be used to potentially trap Mei by placing it as close as possible to her when frozen. When she unfrozen she will be caught in the steel trap making her easy prey.

If being chased by enemies, launch yourself away with Concussion Mine, and then find somewhere to hide (a small room, tunnel, alley, etc.) and place a Steel Trap at the entrance. Let your enemies follow you, and most of the time, they will be so intent on killing you, they won't check for Steel Traps. Once they are immobile, finish them off with Junkrat's Frag Launcher.

The RIP-Tire is usually pretty easy to spot, due to its red glow and medium size. Spotting RIP-Tires as quickly as possible and destroying it will save you.

An observant or well positioned Widowmaker/Hanzo or even a random Fire Strike can easily take out the RIP-Tire so be wary of keeping it alive.

Flanking the enemy when using Rip-Tire is very effective when trying to eliminate as many enemies as possible.

Try to get the RIP-Tire in the air so it will not make noise, which is good if you want to do a suprise attack.</span>

When using RIP-Tire, you lose control of Junkrat and he is unable to move or fight back. Before casting, find a good place for Junkrat to stay for the ability's duration.

Running RIP-Tire into a wall and keeping it against the wall will drastically reduce the noise it makes. Use this to feint opponents into thinking it was blown up/destroyed, then get the drop on them by suddenly coming out from the cover.

However, it is best that you know where the enemy is. Widowmaker's Infra-Sight or Hanzo's Sonic Arrow can assist you with this.

Junkrat shares many traits with the goblins of World of Warcraft. These include pointy facial features, wide smiles, love of engineering, love of money, and an obsession with explosives. He also shares several voice lines with the goblins when clicked on.

Junkrat's being a member of a violence-inclined society of scavengers in an irradiated Australian Outback is an obvious nod to the Mad Max film series.

His last name's being Fawkes is likely a reference to Guy Fawkes, the British traitor who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

On King's Row, Junkrat may say "Remember, remember... what the heck was I saying again?". It's a reference to Guy Fawkes's poem and the Gunpowder Plot, a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by explosives. The poem started with the lines "Remember, remember the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot..."

He also occasionally says "God save the King... *cackle*" as a reference to the national anthem.

Junkrat's Jester and Fool skins are reminiscent of The Joker, nemesis of Batman, who boasts a similar smile, facial structure, and state of violent derangement.

In particular, Junkrat's line "Why so serious?" is a reference to the film The Dark Knight, as spoken by The Joker.

In addition, his Scarecrow and Hayseed skins are similar to some depictions of the Scarecrow, another Batman villain.

On top of that, his French voice actor has also voiced The Joker in the French dubs of the Dark Knight films.

Junkrat's Vaudeville emote is a reference to the popular genre of entertainment in US and Canada, lasting from 1880 to the late 1920s.

The quote "Baby I'm a firework!" is an allusion to the famous song Firework by Katy Perry.

The spray "Somebody stop me!" is a reference to the 1994 film The Mask, whose main character, the eponymous Mask, has a propensity for explosions, face-splitting grins, and unadulterated wackiness.

Junkrat may occasionally say the quote "That's not a knife!", which is a reference to the 1986 movie Crocodile Dundee.

Junkrat's Frag Grenades resemble cricket balls, which ties into his nationality, as cricket is historically Australia's national sport.

When getting a kill, there is a chance that Junkrat will hum a part of the 1812 Overture, a musical piece that is renowned for using cannon fire in its percussion. This alludes to Junkrat's obsession with anything explosives-related.

Also, Junkrat will sometimes say the line, "Come out and play!" after a kill with his ultimate, which is a reference to the 1979 movie The Warriors.

If the Dr. Junkenstein skin is equipped, Junkrat may say "He's alive..... HE'S ALIVE!" when respawning. This a reference to the original movie Frankenstein, where Henry Frankenstein exclaims a similar line (It's alive!).

His dance is one that Will Smith did on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. [8]

Both Roadhog and Junkrat make a cameo appearance in the Rick and Morty comic series. In issue 18 they can be seen eating together in the background of a restaurant.

In "Junkertown: The Plan" the scene where Junkrat comes up with a plan and speeds up whenever he improves it. May have been inspired by the movie Shaun of the Dead, as the main protagonist Shaun composes a plan and speeds up his recital whenever he notices a flaw in it or receives a complaint from Ed.